Another elderly homeowner shot by undercover narcotics officers...

[benEzra]

in this case, it appears the 81-year-old homeowner, Isaac Singletary, saw some drug dealers selling drugs on his property. He apparently asked them to leave, .357 in hand (if I were telling drug dealers to get lost, I'd be armed, too), as he'd apparently done many times in the past. The drug dealers told him to drop the gun, and when he didn't, they shot and killed him.

Unbeknownst to Mr. Singletary, the drug dealers in his yard this time were actually undercover drug police, but he didn't know that.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=74585

Neighbors there refer to Singletary as 'Pops.'

"That's the first thing he did. He came outside and asked, 'Will you please get off my property? You have no business on my property. You know you're wrong, get off my property.' The next thing you know, he said, 'He's got a gun.' So he ran around the tree and he shot Pops. Pops fell right here. Pops fired some shots, but all his shots hit the tree because the dude was behind the tree. That's exactly how it went," said Price Benton III, a neighbor.

Reporter: "Do you think he knew they were officers?"

"How? They didn't have nothing on that said, POLICE. After the man told them to get out of his yard, they didn't say, 'We're holding a police investigation out here, or we're officers.' They didn't say none of that," said Shafonda Boyeoten, a neighbor.

Boyeoten says everyone in their neighborhood knows not to go into Singletary's yard. She says even the drug dealers know it and respect it.

The department's take on it:

Police say the shooting happened after they ordered Singletary to drop his weapon, and they had no choice but to shoot Singletary.

"If you've got an individual that's got a firearm, then you have to do what you have to do based on your training to protect your life or protect the lives of others," said the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Director of Homeland Security and Investigations, Micheal Edwards.

Never mind the fact that they were dressed like drug dealers, were pretending to sell drugs, and Mr. Singletary was in his own yard, where had a legal right to be armed.

Another glorious victory in the War on Non-Approved Herbs...




BTW, update on the Atlanta shooting a while back (when undercover drug officers shot and killed the 88-year-old woman inside her house)--turns out that some of the officers lied to get the no-knock warrant in that case, which means some of them may go to prison for murder.



http://www.wsbtv.com/news/10714490/detail.html
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=90307

[qanda]

1. This is a crying shame

[Greyhound]

2. Outrageous!

and where did this happen? Never mind it was a rhetorical question.:eyes:

[sproutster]

3. Wow, did you follow the links?

Something is up, in that neighborhood. Something bad. I think this should be watched.

[nebenaube]

4. cops don't pretend...

That was and still is entrapment, cops don't pretend to sell drugs; if they were doing that they were selling drugs period!

[lastliberalintexas]

5. Incredibly sad on so many levels

Especially for Mr. Singeltary and his family and friends.


Too bad we have legions of law enforcement officials going after people engaging in consenual "victimless" behavior rather than using those resources to try to prevent real crimes like rape, robbery and murder.

(and it would be victimless if we'd just legalize the shit and regulate it, but instead we create the underworld of associated crime by criminalizing it)

[oasis]

6. That's sad news but, when and where will Barbaro's memorial service be held?

:sarcasm:

[Hubert Flottz]

7. "Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Director of Homeland Security"

What is the DHS doing in the guy's yard? Why would this case have anything to do with DHS?

[benEzra]

8. I think the Sheriff's Department has its own "Homeland Security" person...

"Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Director of Homeland Security"

What is the DHS doing in the guy's yard? Why would this case have anything to do with DHS?

I think the Sheriff's Department has its own "Homeland Security" person...probably a way to get DHS funding for stuff. I think his title was "Director of Homeland Security and Investigations."

Hopefully he's wearing the "Investigations" hat in this role rather than the "Homeland Security" hat. Bringing small-scale drug dealing and other petty crimes under the Homeland Security umbrella would be troubling.

[rman]

9. Covert Operatives / Infiltrators performing the violent acts

they are supposed to help prevent.

Not the first time.

Maybe they'll claim it was an exercise gone wrong. Wouldn't be the first time either.

[ThomCat]

10. I hope his family sues the shit out of this department.

x(

There is no defense for what they did.

[benEzra]

11. Update - Sheriff's office to review undercover-officer policies

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=74693

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- JSO is reviewing its policies on undercover drug operations in light of the latest fatal shooting.

Sheriff John Rutherford called Saturday's shooting of Isaac Singletary at his home a tragedy.

Rutherford referred to Singletary as an "honest citizen trying to do good."

The victim:



Other articles:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=74696
http://www.theagitator.com/archives/027467.php#027467